Mary Jane Nirdlinger
Heart-writing. A technique for bringing your heart to the page.
The past months of writing have been a journey into deep emotions for me, and I've found myself reflecting on a technique for engaging in...
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Mary Jane Nirdlinger
- Nov 11, 2021
- 1 min
Sharing some craft thoughts
I wrote a couple of posts for the SCBWI Carolinas' Blog and wanted to share them in one place: Emotional Resonance was the holy grail of...
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Mary Jane Nirdlinger
- Sep 26, 2021
- 3 min
Changing my story.
Sixteen months ago, I started writing something that would change my story, but I didn't know it at the time. The pandemic had already...
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Mary Jane Nirdlinger
- Aug 23, 2020
- 4 min
Writing Historical Fiction (or, how I learned to love constraints and inconvenient facts)
I swore I'd never, ever write historical fiction. Don't get me wrong, I love reading it, but do you realize how much work those writers...
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Mary Jane Nirdlinger
- Aug 23, 2020
- 3 min
MFA Lesson Two: Stretch Yourself
When I started my MFA, I had a goal: I was going to learn how to write good middle-grade fiction, by golly. I love goals. (This is why my...
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Mary Jane Nirdlinger
- Jul 17, 2020
- 4 min
Six tips for Post-MFA life
Congratulations, July graduates! You just finished up two years of intense work and personal growth. Six months ago I walked across a...
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Mary Jane
- Feb 5, 2020
- 4 min
MFA Lesson One: The Writer's Mindset
I sat down a few days ago, fully intending to start a collection of posts to share some lessons learned from my MFA program, but then my...
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Mary Jane
- Jan 25, 2020
- 6 min
Was the MFA Worth It? (spoiler alert: Yes!)
My phone pinged this morning with a text. The first words out of my mouth were, “What’s that? The airline telling me my flight’s...
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Mary Jane
- Feb 7, 2019
- 3 min
What the Author Isn’t Saying
As readers, we’re drawn though a book because we care about the character, or we want to know what happens. But for a book that is a...
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Mary Jane
- Oct 28, 2018
- 7 min
When Will Kidlit Leave the Printed Page?
The windowless Beinecke Library floats over a stone plaza. Inside its cool waffeled shell, sunlight makes the white marble walls glow....
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Mary Jane
- Sep 25, 2018
- 9 min
How to bring your reader along: taking a page from comics.
When we write, we send a story on a journey from our mind to the reader’s. In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud defines mastery in...
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Mary Jane
- Sep 14, 2018
- 1 min
A fiction(al) magazine for writers Vol.2
#writing #writerscraft #humo
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Mary Jane
- Sep 11, 2018
- 1 min
A fiction(al) magazine for writers
#writing #writerscraft #humor
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Mary Jane
- Aug 19, 2018
- 4 min
Obsession: Chapter Endings
As writers, we obsess over chapter endings for good reason. The best ones hook readers for another few minutes, or hours. Not so good and...
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Mary Jane
- Jun 30, 2018
- 5 min
How magic and character go hand-in-glove
It takes a certain amount of gumption to create a world from scratch, especially when there's magic involved. All the details to consider...
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Mary Jane
- May 15, 2018
- 5 min
A Monster Calls. Why we need hopeful books on difficult topics.
There's been talk lately about whether children's books should tackle hard subjects. This one's a no-brainer for me. They should. Kids...
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Mary Jane
- Apr 14, 2018
- 5 min
Secrets of an Action Scene
Learn to use setting, packing, verbs and sensory details to build a compelling action scene.
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Mary Jane
- Mar 12, 2018
- 4 min
Crafting a Rich Beginning: A Swift Pure Cry, by Siobhan Dowd
I've been thinking a lot about beginnings - what captures us quickly and draws us into the center of story? We're told to start with...
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Mary Jane
- Feb 17, 2018
- 4 min
Who is the Main Character in Rita Williams-Garcia’s Jumped?
If there were Ten Commandments of writing for children, the main character shall change by the end of the story would be among them....
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